The Scent of Bread
by SaoirseParisa
Summary: Elli's life at the bakery is simple and pleasant. Her routine hasn't changed at all, and she likes it that way. When a farmer starts visiting the bakery every day, her simple routine has changed, and it changes her in ways she doesn't expect. Valentine's present for Moomieluv as part of the Valentine's Story Exchange in the Village Square Forum.


**A/N** : I wrote this for the user Moomieluv for the Village Square Forum's Matchmaking Service prompt event. Here's your fic, Moomie! I hope you like it, and I hope I did HM64!Elli justice.

* * *

For as long as Elli could remember, the scent of warm bread fresh from the oven caressed her nostrils every morning when she woke up. Crescent shaped croissants. Round, flaky buns. Loaves of whole wheat and rye bread. Panettones that resembled muffins. Long, thin breadsticks with garlic sprinkled across the top to give it more flavor. Scones draped with raspberry jam, giving it a sweet zest. It was the scent of home, the scent she smelled all her life. She woke up to bread, and she slept smelling like dough, the gooey, mushed up, putty-like substance still lingering on her hands even after giving them a good washing. Every day, she woke up, readied the shop for business, put some bread and cake out, and spent the rest of her day in the bakery. The routine she had established since childhood had practically melded into her whole being, right into every vein and artery she had in her body. Everything about the bakery had been committed to her memory long ago.

The picture of her parents hanging next to the clock on the wall. The thin but noticeable scratches on the glass counter, all from the bags, plastic containers, plates, glass cups, and whatever else scraped against its clear but muddied surface. The tinny ching the charcoal colored cash register made when she received payment and exchanged whatever change was left over. Lingering red and brown stains on other parts of the counter. Chocolate and strawberry residue that had leaked off of various cakes without her knowing until it was too late. The soft, melodious chime from the bell that rang when the door was swung open. The high pitched squeaking noises the wooden chairs and tables made when scraping against the floor, usually from customers moving them.

Even now, today was no different. Elli was in the kitchen, gently putting some cut up strawberries onto a white cake she had just finished preparing. All she needed was to put the strawberries on and it'd be done. It took no time at all to finish it. A smile played at her lips as she put the cake in a class container and gingerly carried it out to the counter to put it on display. The chocolate cake and the lime roll cake had already been set out, so all she needed to do was put this out. But the cake weighed her arms down, feeling like a small cinder block as she carried it.

"Ugh…" Elli groaned, struggling to keep the cake steady. "I wonder if I put too much strawberries on it?" Thankfully, she made it to the counter right there and she slid the cake into the display, putting it right next to the green roll cake.

"Hello?"

Who was that? Elli stopped right as she pulled her hands out from the display underneath the counter. That wasn't any voice she had heard before, and she knew everyone in town, from their faces to their voices. A new customer, maybe? She stood up, getting a better look at whoever came in. It was a man, about her age, with fair skin and messy brown hair hidden underneath a blue cap with a yellow bill. A red bandanna was wrapped around his neck, partly obscuring a white shirt, already underneath a pair of mud caked blue overalls.

Yes. This definitely wasn't someone Elli knew. New faces were rare in Flower Bud Village. Come to think of it, Mary had told her that a farmer had moved into town. Was this him? He certainly had the look of a farmer. Elli smiled and greeted him.

"Hello there! Welcome to the Flower Bud Bakery!" Elli kept her demeanor friendly and welcoming as she looked at him, just as she did with everyone else she met. "What can I get for you today?"

At first, there wasn't a response. His blue eyes were wide, staring right at her, and his jaw had fallen open in a rather ungraceful manner. Elli wondered if maybe she was a little too forward. After a second, the man closed his mouth and cleared his throat.

"Sorry about that," The farmer said after a brief deliberation. "I'd like some of that chocolate cake, please, along with a bag of those breadsticks."

An easy enough request. "Coming right up!" Within a few minutes, she had his order ready. "Here you are, sir. Do you want them to go, or are you eating here?"

"To go."

Elli quickly stashed them into a brown paper bag before handing them off. "Alright! Here you go!"

The man accepted the bag, but he didn't move from where he was. Elli cocked her head to one side. Why was he still standing there? "Is everything alright, sir?"

"Oh! Uhh…" The man's face flushed red and he averted Elli's gaze, sheepishly clutching the bag in his gloved hands. "Sorry. It's just...you're…" Any words he had were quickly drying up. But he took in a deep breath before speaking again. "You're...really pretty."

Elli's jaw dropped a little bit. He called her pretty. Elli had never considered herself a beauty. That title belonged to Popuri, with her curly pink locks, cherry red eyes, and cheerful demeanor. Compared to Popuri, Elli didn't think she was anyone worth noticing or complimenting. Who in their right mind would think she-short haired, frumpy, overweight, bread-smelling Elli-was pretty? But here was this strange man, complimenting her looks, and his tone wasn't condescending or overly invasive. Her heart skipped a beat.

"My goodness...thank you!" Elli stammered. "Are you the farmer who moved here a while ago?"

The man rubbed his neck with one hand, laughing nervously. "Yeah. I'm Nathan. Nathan Sorich. But you can call me Nate."

Nate...a relatively simple but nice name for a hard working man, Elli thought. "I'm Elli. It's nice to meet you. Welcome to Flower Bud Village."

Their introductions were interrupted by the mellisonant chime of the bell. Another customer had come inside. A young woman about Elli's age with black hair tied into a long braid. Her plain, grayish blue clothes did little to make her stand out, and her thick glasses obscured her eyes. But her entrance alone made both Elli and Nate turn in her direction.

"Good morning, Mary!" Elli greeted her with a smile.

Mary acknowledged her with a silent nod.

"So...I'm gonna go now," Nate sputtered, waving his hand at her. "I'll see you later, Elli."

"Come again!"

With that, Nate left the bakery. Elli looked down at the counter, further noticing the scrapes and scratches on the top. Mary approached, her bespectacled eyes still lingering on the door.

"Was that the farmer who moved in recently?" Mary asked.

"Yes."

"Oh," Mary reached down and adjusted her skirt a bit. "I hadn't seen him around, so I was wondering who that was."

"His name is Nathan Sorich," Elli told her.

She had heard rumors that someone had moved into the old farm. Previously, it had been owned by an elderly man who had always spent his days working on it. Elli rarely left the bakery much, other than for a few errands here and there, but on the rare days she had some extra free time, she would walk to the farm. The elderly man was either feeding his chickens, petting his livestock, brushing one of the horses Anne's family had given him, or watering his crops. All with a smile on his face. He had died a few months back, and the farm had fallen into disrepair the last time she had seen it. Elli took out a cloth and began wiping the counter with a smile on her face. She was glad the farm would be up and running again. But a touch of grief weighed heavy on her heart. She wished she had gotten to know the man who worked the farm before. He had seemed like such a nice, kind-hearted fellow.

Oh well. At least Nate was here. Maybe he could be a potential friend. She hoped the community would welcome him with open arms.

* * *

Her routine hadn't changed at all for most of her life. But a new addition to her routine came. Every day since then, Nate would stop by the bakery. Often times, he came in to buy food or to sit down and eat there. But he never wasted a moment to find time to talk to Elli. Every day he talked to her at the bakery about anything he could think of, asking her questions or complimenting her food. What was her real name? What was her favorite recipe? Did she always keep her hair short? What was life in Flower Bud Village like? Did she prefer cake or bread? This was all so new to her. She had regular patrons at the bakery. Some people came every day just like Nate. But none had ever stopped to talk to her all the time. It had been quite alarming at first. Once the shock wore off, she found herself enjoying his company.

She liked the way he laughed, the dimples on his cheeks when he smiled, how his hair would get messy when he ran his hand through it, how he tracked mud and dirt into the shop regardless of his best efforts to clean his boots. Soon enough, she found herself talking to him.

"So the man who ran the farm before you was your grandfather?" Elli had asked him one day, about a month or so after he moved in.

Nate sat at one of the wooden tables by the window, treating himself to a meat pie she had made. "Yeah. Liam Sorich. When I was a kid, my parents would take me to visit him over the summer when school was out. I loved learning how to ride horses and take care of the animals," Nate explained joyfully, waving his fork around like it was a magic wand as he told Elli stories of the days he spent with his grandfather. "I wasn't a huge fan of pulling weeds, but he always paid me for helping him on the farm, so it was worth it."

"Where are you originally from?" Elli inquired, her curiosity having been piqued.

"You wouldn't know it," Nate said before finishing his meat pie. "It's this really obscure neighborhood called Watership Heights. It's way down past Zuzu City, down in Perkins Township. Nobody knows where it is. Not even my friends from college know where it is."

Elli giggled. "You're right. I've never heard of Watership Heights. Can I ask why you've come here?"

Before he answered, Nate bent down to pull on one of his boots. "Grandpa dyin' was one reason. But I've wanted to be a farmer from the start, and I had just graduated from college, so why not start here? The place that holds the best memories for me?" He explained. "I mean, I probably won't be the best farmer out there, but I don't want Grandpa's old farm to turn into a dump. I have to start somewhere, right?"

Elli folded her hands, smiling at the story. "I think it's wonderful that you admire your grandfather so much," She found herself nodding in approval. It was clear that Nate thought very highly of his grandfather, to the point that he willingly took over his farm. There weren't many people who respected their elders anymore. Nate himself seemed like a genuinely nice, friendly guy, just like Liam. From talking with him over the past month, Elli was sure she had found a new friend.

"I am glad I came here though," Nate's face flushed crimson as looked down at the empty plate in front of him. "I got to meet you, too, and I think you're a great person. So, uhh…"

"Hm?" Elli cocked her head to one side. This was new for him. Nate rarely blushed or stammered in the entire time she had known him. What brought this on?

Nate tugged on his neckerchief. "I was wondering...uhh...I found out there's a movie theater in the next town over, and…" He let the sentence drift a bit, but he composed himself enough to continue. "They're showing this really good movie that I want to see, and so...would you...I don't know...if it's not too much trouble...would you...maybe...like to go out with me? And see it?"

Go out? With him? On a potential date? Was he asking her out? Elli suddenly stood up from her chair in alarm, her heart beating a million miles a minute. Her cheeks burned a fierce red, hotter than the inside of an oven, and her brown eyes shrunk. She had never believed such a day would come, a day when a boy would ask her out. Who would want to go out with someone like her? Some girls she knew in school would call her fat, frumpy, uncool, or not even remotely pretty. It had hurt her self-confidence, so she had given up on the idea of someone asking her out, or asking someone else out herself. But here was Nate, a man she had known for a month, asking to take her to the movies. Was this a dream? She held her hands to her face. It wasn't. Nate was still in front of her.

"Oh crap! Did that sound...creepy?" Nate stammered, regretting his words. "Man. Sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything," He stood up from the chair, pulling some money out of his wallet and throwing it to the table. "Ugh, I shouldn't have asked. Just forget that I-"

"Wait! Don't go," Elli was quick to put a hand on his arm, preventing him from leaving. "You didn't freak me out. I was just...surprised is all," She found her voice again and although her heart pounded in her chest with the speed of a cheetah, she took a few seconds to compose herself. "You're not creepy. I...I'm really happy you're asking me to...go out with you, and I'd love to go to the movies with you."

Nate's face furiously flushed a deep red. Before long, he jumped in the air, cheering right out loud. Some of the other customers shot annoyed glares at him, but he barely noticed. Mary, who was sitting two tables away, simply chuckled and flashed an approving smile at Elli.

"Aw man! Thanks so much!" Nate cajoled, taking Elli's delicate, dough-scented hands into his own gloved ones. "I'll make sure you have a great time!" That was when he noticed something white on Elli's cheek. Baking powder, maybe? Probably, since she spent most of her days baking. He quickly wiped it off with his finger, but his nose caught the scent of bread on her person. "Hmm? You still kinda smell like bread."

Of course. Even now, Elli still couldn't get the bread smell off of her. Laughter bellowed out from her throat, and Nate could only stand there in bewilderment.

"Did I say something rude? Sorry!" Nate worried.

"No no. It's fine," Elli reassured him, wiping a tear out from her eye as she calmed herself. "I hope you don't mind me smelling like bread the whole time."

Nate shook his head. "Not at all. In fact, I love it when you smell like bread."

The baker's heart pounded even harder, threatening to pop right out of her chest. Nate said he liked that she smelled like bread? Suddenly, she no longer lamented the fact that she could never get that scent off of her, no matter how many times she showered or washed.

When Nate left soon after, Elli hummed to herself all the way until closing time. She couldn't wait for her date!

* * *

The next year was a whirlwind of romance for Elli, filled with many dates with Nate, and the two of them made lots of happy memories together. Of course, the year they spent together wasn't entirely happy. Three months into their relationship, Elli's grandmother died. Elli was lost in her grief, but Nate was always there to support her and be there for her, rarely leaving her side for anything. He helped with the funeral preparations, allowed her to vent and cry her sorrows out, listened to her worries and woes, gave her space when she needed to be alone, and even helped at the bakery when she didn't have the energy to do so herself. Where had this man been all her life? When she looked at him, everything else melted away, even her grief and melancholy. He always smiled and thanked her for everything she did for him, and he did the same with her. She never felt like she was unappreciated, undervalued, or used as little more than female arm candy.

One night, she had come to a realization: She loved him. She loved him and wanted to spend her life with him.

Apparently he had felt the same way. Two months after her grandmother's death, they were in the plaza, and he got down on one knee before pulling out a small black box. Tears had blurred her vision the second she saw it. She knew what was coming, but it still hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Will you marry me, Elizabeth Althos?" Nate's voice quivered when he asked the question, and she could see worry and anxiety in his eyes, like he expected her to reject him.

Well, he needn't have worried. Elli leaped on him, wrapping her arms around him, causing the box to fall out of his hands. The ring remained where it was, but Elli barely noticed it.

"YES!"

She thanked the Harvest Goddess that day for bringing Nate into her life. The day he walked into her bakery so shyly and told her she was pretty without a hint of malice was one she would remember forever.

A year passed since they married. Elli sat in Nate's living room, reveling in the comfort of this cozy little farmhouse. Flames crackled and danced in the fireplace, flickering in the skylight. Her two day old daughter was cradled in her arms, warmed by a soft, knitted blanket, sleeping contentedly. Elli smiled down at her. Her daughter's wild hair stood up everywhere, defying gravity, just like Nate. Sunlight filtered through the white silk curtains, giving the wooden floors a mahogany glow. The door gave a drawn out squeak as Nate walked inside, his boots still tracking dirt and mud. He flung them off as he wiped sweat off his brow and sat down on the couch right next to Elli.

"Phew! The crops are all watered," Nate's wet bangs clung to his forehead, and some sweat still trickled down his face. "Man, I don't know how I managed to survive working in this heat."

Elli grinned. "You should go get some water," She advised warmly, adjusting her arms a bit so her daughter didn't weigh them down so hard. "I have some loaves in the oven, and they'll be ready in about a few minutes. The ones shaped like stars that you love so much."

"Good. I'm starving," Nate pulled on his neckerchief again, stealing a glance at the baby in his wife's arms. His daughter. A smile settled on his lips, and tears pricked at his eyes as he gazed at the sleeping baby. This was his child. His and Elli's child. Perfect in every way. Soft, pink cheeks. Frizzy brown hair. Ten fingers and toes. "Have you come up with a name for her yet?"

"A few. I don't know if they're any good though," Elli said. She did have a few names in mind, but none seemed to really stick out to her. She doubted that any name she could come up with would suit the little bundle sleeping in her arms.

One name did pop up in her mind when that thought crossed her mind.

"What about Rochelle?" Elli suggested. "It was my cousin's name, and I always liked how it sounded."

Nate smiled, taking off his gloves and gently stroking his baby's hair. "I think that's absolutely perfect."

Elli let out a soft, merry laugh. "Rochelle it is, then. Thank you...for being with me, Nate," She leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. Sure, it was sweaty, but she didn't mind. "I love you."

Nate was quick to return the gesture, kissing her on the forehead. "I love you too, Elli."

The scent of bread lingered in the air. Elli was sure she still smelled like bread from kneading the dough earlier. But she wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
